Chucked
by The Plothole
Summary: AU- Chuck Bartowski lives a normal life until he unwittingly wakes up a mysterious woman who claims to be his protector and finds himself in a world of Space Pirates, Rebels, Mobsters, and an evil empire. And he thought he was bored. Chuck/Sarah
1. Prologue

Chucked

_Prologue_

_April 20__th__,1997_– The wind fluttered her long black dress in cascading waves as she guided the man next to her to his seat. Ellie Bartowski could only count one moment that had been more difficult than what she was currently experiencing. Her parents had died in a car crash when Ellie was just a 17 year old junior in high school. Their death had crushed her. With no relatives to speak of, and no real family friends, there had been only been a small memorial service with two participants. That service however was a far cry from the current funeral she found herself attending at the Stanford Campus. People were gathered all around her in a sea of black, emotion etched clearly on their faces. Just as it had been nearly impossible for her to hold herself together nearly a decade before at her parents service, Ellie could barely keep herself together now.

But she did.

Because as much as she felt like collapsing in emotion, she still had a mission. She looked over to the man sitting numbly in the seat next to her. Her brother Chuck Bartowski had been in the car when her parents had died. Only eleven years old at the time, he had been lucky enough (and small enough) to survive the car crash. Hell he hadn't even had a scratch on him when he was pulled out of the wreckage. And that had only made things worse for him. In addition to the emotionally crippling event of seeing his parents lose their life before his very eyes, he had been the only one to survive. Guilt had plagued him. Ellie hated thinking back to those times. She had forced herself to grow up and take care of her brother. She had become his rock… his foundation.

She had tried her best to protect him as they had dodged the Child Services of California. They would not be separated from each other. It was not an option to them.

She had taken on multiple jobs (in addition to school) and he mowed all the lawns inn the neighborhood to earn extra cash just to survive. Their home had luckily been purchased outright by their parents so their bills were minimal, but faking taxes, going to school, running a home and raising an 11 year old boy were all incredibly new responsibilities to her. Then she was 18, and finally became a legal adult, gained her inheritance and legally gained guardianship of Chuck and life had gotten better.

Before she knew it, she was in Medical school and her genius brother (who was much smarter than she was) was the top of his class at Stanford. He had made an amazing friend, Bryce Larkin, who had taken the shy unconfident boy out of his shell, and made him join a frat, interact with females, even get a girlfriend and became a whole heck of a lot more normal. Ellie had immediately liked Bryce, not only for his loyal and likeable nature, but because of all the good he did for her brother.

It wasn't hard to see the bond between the two friends. Bryce had become a fixture in Chuck's life and by virtue of the fact, so had his presence become a fixture in Ellie's. Chuck and Bryce had become fast friends, sharing an interest in not only the nerdy geeky things (that had first started their friendship) but in sports and other activities. Bryce was a charismatic social butterfly and Chuck in hanging with Bryce was forced into more group situations and had finally come out of his shell. Even despite all of those accomplishments, Bryce Larkin managed to put up with and befriend Chuck's slightly stalkerish best friend Morgan. And as far as Ellie could tell, Morgan was impossible to tolerate so that was impressive.

Bryce would come back with Chuck on holidays (because Bryce's family lived overseas) and Ellie had only been too happy to share the events with him and expand the size of their little family. Even the important holidays… the tough ones like Mother's and Father's day, which had become a torturous reminder of what they had lost. And then, most recently even the one no one ever had been welcome to attend outside the Bartowski siblings. The day where she and Chuck would slowly get drunk as they laughed about happier times, mourned what they had lost, and came to terms with the innocence that had been stolen from them. Bryce Larkin had been important enough to her and her brother that he was allowed to mourn with them on the anniversary of their parent's death:

Her Birthday.

But now, as she finished her residency and as her brother's life had finally seemed to be coming together as he prepared to graduate from college, life threw them a curve ball. Even after they had risen from the wreckage of their past, fate had saw it fit to destroy all the progress they had made.

Bryce Larkin tragically died on Wednesday the14th of April, 1997. Chuck had been there when it had happened. He couldn't remember any of what had transpired, as Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome had set in, but he had seen it nonetheless. And for the second time in his life, he had lost everything.

_AN: Well don't worry, as morbid as the beginning is, it is needed to set the Stage for an entirely new Chuck story. I had to rework the details. This story is entirely AU and based off of a concept I'm working on for a novel. That being said, it will be distinctly Chuck and look for humor romance and action and all the good stuff to come. Sorry for all the exposition and I am very excited as I think this is a story that many people will like. And I always love feedback. Thanks_

_P.S. Any people interested in Betaing?_


	2. Soggy Savior

Chucked

_Chapter 1 – Soggy Savior_

The morning light reflected off the water as Chuck stretched his muscles.

It had been four years since Bryce Larkin's funeral and for Chuck, it had been a time of healing. Just as with his parent's death before, he had never recovered his memory from the events of his roommate's demise. Though he was okay with that. If his mind thought the events were too much for the 25 year old to handle, he could live without ever regaining them.

Chuck had tried to finish up at Stanford after Bryce's death but the school had held too many memories. Chuck had taken an incomplete for his final semester. He had left with the knowledge that the administration would welcome him back to finish when he was ready. But Stanford seemed like it was another world ago.

Ellie had decided that California held too much bad karma so she sold their house, packed up their bags and decided it was time to leave for a place where she knew they could be happy; a place that had always held good memories. Their grandparents (when they had been alive) had owned a cottage in the 1000 islands (the St. Lawrence River region in northern New York that bordered Canada and fed from Lake Ontario into the Atlantic.)

She and Chuck had always loved traveling out there for summer break when they had been kids, and luckily they had been left their grandparents cottage in their parent's will. So Ellie being Ellie had deemed that since she was done with her post-doc and since Chuck was just moping around in California, they would move clear across the country to New York; Just the two of them alone against the world in a new start at life.

Well almost alone…

Morgan had decided it would be the adventure of his life and convinced his mom to forward him an allowance (which she continued to do even 4 years later) so he could afford rent at a place of his own and make the move with Chuck.

As Morgan had so eloquently put it, "Chuck, I don't even know if they have video games in New York man. They don't even have comic-con! I can't let my best buddy go to such a dark and horrible place without his number 1 man. Did Sam stay put when Frodo set off? Did Goose leave Maverick when he went to dogfight the baddies? Well I guess that isn't a good one because Goose died and technically did leave maverick, but if he had been brought back to life by a necromancer then he would…"

The other member that made the relocation was Ellie's boyfriend Devin Woodcomb a.k.a. Captain Awesome. His reply when Ellie had heart wrenchingly told him of her plans to move was: "Don't worry babe, I'm gonna come too. I'm with you guys 100%. And New York sounds awesome."

So the four Californians had been transplanted from West Coast to the East Coast. And it had been good for Chuck. No more reminders of his girlfriend Jill who had left him as he struggled to deal with Bryce's death. No more reminders of what he had lost. It was a change. Life was simpler and Chuck was much happier.

Chuck smiled as he opened the patio doors and made his way out of his house and out onto the front lawn. The entire river lay in front of him, a giant channel decorated with islands ranging from small rock outcroppings to landmasses miles in length. A large blue heron was perched delicately at the end of the dock in front of Chuck staring into the water for his next meal.

"This is most certainly the life," Chuck mused as he took in the beautiful morning view. The world was tranquil as the waves crashed slowly against the shore and the majestic looking bird stalked its prey. Chuck was one with nature, the peace entering into him as he sipped his morning coffee.

HOOOONK

The blue heron that had previously taken up a perch on Chuck's dock flapped hurriedly away as a medium sized motor boat made a rapid approach towards Chuck's cottage. Chuck could only rub his temples as he made out the identity of the vessel. The boat was white with red trim and had a picture of a black silhouette Nerd Herder in a running pose, complete with pirate hat, sword and parrot on his shoulder. A black flag with the same logo (except outlined in white) flapped from a pole on the rear of the boat and the words "BIG MIKE'S NERD SCOURGE" written across the bow completed the pirate motif.

"Land ho'," came the high pitched call of Lester as he stood in the open bow of the boat in a position that was strikingly similar to the Captain Morgan's pose. The boat finally slowed down as it almost collided with the dock revealing Morgan in the driver's seat and Jeff drinking out of a flask in the passenger seat.

And such was Chuck's life.

"Avast ye me matey," Morgan cried enthusiastically while Jeff took another swig out of his flask and gave an "Arrrr" in agreement. Chuck sighed as he made his way out to the end of the dock to see what his fellow employees wanted.

"Little buddy, what did Big Mike say about joy riding in the Scourgers?" Chuck admonished as he reached the end of the dock and took the rope that Lester was holding out.

He tied the boat to the dock as the three members of the Nerd Scourge climbed out of the appropriately named Scourge 3 (Scourge 1 was Chucks designated boat… and he didn't want to think about what had happened to Scourge 2. The moral of that story was that Jeff was no longer allowed to drive the boats… or enter Canada.)

"Details, details, Charles," said Lester as he hopped out onto the dock. "Not to mention that it isn't joyriding if we are coming to the home of the assistant manager. Just merely our dedication to our job."

Chuck gave Lester a look. "And I suppose that face that my sister is off of work today has nothing to do with it?"

"Is Eleanor not working today?" Lester continued in an incredulous tone. "I had no idea. Frankly Charles, I'm offended. To think that we would take advantage of your hospitality like that. Right Jeff?"

Jeff merely shrugged and took another swig. "Ellie makes the best Bloody Marys," was Jeff's insight. "Though she doesn't put enough alcohol in them."

"That's because she makes them virgin," Chuck explained.

"And that's why I bring my friend here," Jeff continued for Chuck as he pulled a handle of vodka out of his jacket. Chuck merely shook his head and turned to head towards the house.

"I think the point that you're missing Chuck," Morgan finally chimed in. "Is that your sister makes the best breakfast in the world. Just one of the many facts that makes my love for her grow every minute of every day. And I don't think I can live in a world where I don't have any of Ellie's world famous, addictive chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. You wouldn't ask your best friend to do that would you?"

Chuck laughed as they walked into the house. "Of course not little buddy, she was expecting you guys anyways. Pancakes are almost done."

As the three men turned into wild beasts, trying to beat each other into the cottage Chuck couldn't help but gain a sad look on his face. As much as he loved his friends and family, he couldn't help but feel like something was missing in his life. He turned to gaze wistfully out at the water. His sister's familiar shriek of "MORGAN, Get Away!" broke his melancholy. With a chuckle he walked into the cottage.

* * *

The day passed uneventfully. Chuck had driven his boat to work at Big Mike's Buy More (not needing a car was only one of the many aspects he loved about living in the 1000 islands). He had managed to help a couple customers with their cell phones, tasked Lester and Jeff with a couple service calls bouncing from island to island (hopefully helping customers) and even managed to catch up on some of the backlog of computers.

So when it was three in the afternoon and Big Mike graciously let Chuck go early ("BARTOWSKI! I don't want you collecting overtime"), Chuck could barely contain his excitement. Summer had just started and today would be Chuck's inaugural run in a solo dive. He had been taking Scuba lessons since college (another one of Bryce's influences) and had become proficient, yet he had always been a little hesitant to set off on his own. But he had just bought new gear that he needed to break in, and had a dive flag, and now that summer was here, he was feeling adventurous. Sure he had dived in the islands before but it had always been with Awesome. He figured he would be just fine on his own though.

Still the ever responsible younger brother, he shot Ellie a text letting her know where he would be diving in case he didn't return. He felt a little guilty as he knew Awesome would be bummed that Chuck hadn't asked him to come but this dive was personal to Chuck.

After finding out that Chuck had spent time in the 1000 islands as a kid, Bryce had nearly lost it with excitement as he detailed to Chuck the location of his favorite dive spot in the river. He had raved about an old wooden shipwreck, a relic of the past that lay dormant underneath the waters, and a tunnel that lay just north of the ship that led to an underground cave. Bryce had apparently gone with his dad before his freshman year at Stanford.

The two had vowed that they would go dive it together at some point, however Bryce had died before they managed to get to New York. Still Bryce had been adamant and made sure that especially, "if something ever happens to me, I need you to promise me that you will go there for me. Trust me, it will be the most incredible dive of your life. If there's one thing you do for me Chuck do this."

So Chuck would keep his promise. He pulled out the map that Bryce had sketched out for him years before and started navigating his way towards the dive site. The cottages passed by as he navigated the river, finally happening upon a secluded cove. He turned on his depth finder surprised by the depth of the water so close to the mainland. The cove was unsuspecting enough sheltered from the weather by the tall hills that rose on the mainland surrounding it.

Putting his wetsuit on, Chuck shook off the knot in his chest and his urge to call Awesome. He still wasn't entirely comfortable with the prospect of diving alone, but for his promise to Bryce, he would overcome his fear. Tossing out his anchor he let the slack out until he felt it catch on the bottom and he tied off the line, ensuring that his boat wouldn't drift away while he was underwater. He attached one end of his dive flag to the boat and then put on his air pack, buoyancy control device, flashlight, dive belt and fins. Sitting on the edge of the boat he took one last breath before falling backwards and into the water.

The water was still cold from how early it still was in the summer but he shook off the chill and put on his mask and mouthpiece, placed his flag in the water and submerged. As he slowly descended, the pressure equalizing in his ears, his breath was taken away at the old vessel that lay below him. Bryce had not been lying about the size of the wreck, and Chuck could not help but wonder what had sunk the ship. As he descended even further, surprise took him. The ship had literally been cleaved in two, leaving Chuck even more confused about the fate of the ship.

He spent a quarter of his air at the wreck hesitant to venture too far into forgotten craft before deciding to move to the cave. Chuck was hit by a wave of guilt, while the fact that the ship was cleaved in two certainly was impressive, the dive was for all intents was pretty mild compared to the spring break trip he and Bryce had taken diving in the Caribbean. 'The cave must be better,' Chuck reasoned and set off to discover the entrance. Chuck found himself even closer to the mainland, as he spent more time searching for the cave entrance. Worry started to set in that he would be unable to locate it but Chuck breathed a sigh of relief as a dark entrance finally became visible as he swam further.

Flicking on his flashlight, he entered the cave tunnel and felt a surge of adrenaline and fear. He was definitely not comfortable with the enclosed tunnel he was setting off into but for Bryce he would persevere. Keeping a constant eye on his air gauge Chuck ventured further only beginning to consider turning back when his tank dipped below half. A luminescent glow appeared ahead in the distance and his curiosity drove him further on. The light blue glow gained in intensity until Chuck found himself emerging out of the water into a large open cavern.

"Holy shit," he said as he lifted himself out of the water and took off his mouthpiece. A hesitant breath later and he realized that the air in the cave was rich in oxygen. "This must be under the hills," he murmured to himself as he tried to gain his bearings.

The ceiling of the cavern was at least 30 feet high and the cave resembled a football field in sheer size. "Bryce how in the hell did you find this place," Chuck laughed as he took off his fins and gear and began to explore. The room was illuminated by what appeared to be some sort of luminescent algae that gave off a neon blue glow. As he made his way to the center of the room his attention was stolen. A stone outcropping stood in the middle of the cave as a sort of natural altar, a small glowing light in the center.

Curiosity drove him to the stone altar, soon giving way to confusion. A small blue cube attached to a silver chain lay on the center of the stone, pulsating in waves of blue light. The cube seemed to pulsate in even more intensity as he moved closer. Tentatively he reached out his hand and clutched the cube, as it beckoned for him. The second he made contact, a blue light flared out from the area in front of him and Chuck noticed the small glowing pool in front of him for the first time.

Gazing into the water his breath hitched as he gazed down upon a withered body in the center of the small pool. The body looked as if it had been there for years. "Oh my god, oh my god," was Chucks knee jerk reaction as he stumbled backwards. His eyes still locked on the body, he processed the image. Waves of blond hair floated around the bodies head, and it appeared that it was a woman. His mind was swimming with the possibilities of what he should do and what all in the cave could mean. Still looking at the woman in the water he let out a very unmanly scream as her eyes snapped open revealing glowing deep blue orbs. He fell backwards onto the ground as the apparently not so dead women's hand rose slowly out of the water.

"What the hell?" Chuck cried out frantically backing away as the women started to lift herself out of the water with zombie-like grace.

"Zombie Girl!" he cried out in fear falling back onto the ground. A flickering in his hand distracted him from his imminent danger and brought him back to the glowing cube in his hand. Before Chuck could even react the cube coated the room in a searing blinding light, Chuck's eyes became unfocussed, and the world went dark.

* * *

Chuck woke up to the most massive headache he had ever experienced. Dazed and disoriented he tried to fight through the pain clouding his rational thought. He had been scuba diving and then he had gone into the cave and then there had been the cube and the dead girl in the water, and then she wasn't dead…

Chuck was on his feet in a flash. Looking wildly around the room, his adrenaline put him in full fight or flight mode ready to run from the impending danger. Much to his confusion however he slowly let his guard down as he saw no sign of a zombie corpse trying to maul him.

"Maybe I was hallucinating," he rationalized, but could not help to stem the cold fear that swept down his spine as he saw he still clutched the small cube and chain in his hand. Without hesitation he thrust the cube into the top of his wetsuit, geared up and plunged back into the water swimming frantically out of the tunnel. When he finally made his way to open water he felt relief course through his body. He barely left time for his body to decompress as he made his way to the surface and his boat. With a heavy grunt Chuck pulled his way onto the boat, threw off his gear, pulled up the anchor and gunned the boat out of the cove.

"Easy there Chuck," he told himself as he tried to settle his emotions. "There must have been some kind of gas in the cave that caused hallucinations," he reasoned. "And this cube must have just been in there," he continued. The sun was beginning to dim along the horizon as he headed towards home.

"Oh shoot, Ellie," Chuck thought all of a sudden as he pick up his phone and saw three missed calls. Immediately hitting the call back, he thought up an excuse, as he had no desire for his sister to be worried about his hallucinations or adventures.

"Oh my god Chuck, where have you been?" came the half angry half worried voice of Ellie Bartowski. "You didn't answer your phone and I was just about to send Devon out on the boat to find you."

"Sorry Ellie, I ended up fishing and fell asleep on the boat. The phone was on vibrate." Chuck felt a wave of shame with the lie. He never lied to Ellie but at the same time, he didn't need her worrying too much, at least until he figured out what was going on himself.

"C'mon little brother, you can't do that to me," she laughed as she scolded him. "I didn't know what had happened to you. I was really worried."

Chuck felt even guiltier. After all his sister had done for him, his personal goal was to make her life as easy as possible. Not have her worrying that he was floating face down in the river.

"I'm really sorry El, it won't happen again," Chuck conceded. "I'm on my way home right now. See you soon."

"Alright Jacques Cousteau," she teased back. "See you soon."

Chuck all too happily hung up as the throbbing in his head increased. Still as he continued back towards his home, he could not help but glance at the cube that hung on a silver chain. The eerie blue glowing had subsided since he had regained consciousness but he could not help but look at the cube and ask, "What have I gotten myself into?"

* * *

Life had continued much the same in the weeks following. So much so in fact that Chuck's hallucination theory was beginning to look much more likely. He had all but forgotten about the cave incident, his only reminder, the cube trinket that hung from his neck. Chuck had never been one for jewelry but the chain looked pretty snazzy and he had received a couple compliments so he figured why not?

Work had been running smooth as usual (well as smooth as it could go when you had the kind of employees the BuyMore did). And life was back to being normal again.

"Hey Chuckster, you up for a dive after work today?" came Awesome's voice down the hallway as Chuck walked out of the bathroom brushing his teeth. He immediately stopped in his tracks, a look of terror on his face as the Zombie Girl from the cave flashed across his memory

Devon turned to look at his girlfriend's brother with a look of confusion. "Hello Chuck?" He waved his arms in front of Chuck's face while whistling. "Chuckles?"

The pet name served to bring Chuck out of his mild paralysis as he dashed into the bathroom and spit out the contents of his mouth. He brought water up to his lips and gargled rinsing out the toothpaste and buying himself some time to collect himself.

Walking out, Devon regarded him with a puzzled look. "You okay there Chuckster?"

Chuck's nervous laugh was in full tilt as he fidgeted with his tie. "Umm… sorry Devin… I promised Morgan that I was going to go for a Call of Duty marathon at his place." Chuck's spirits sank even deeper as he lied to Awesome. Okay, so maybe thing weren't quite back to normal.

"Not a problem there buddy. Spending quality time with friends is awesome." He gave Chuck a punch in the shoulder to emphasize his point. "But summer is here man, and we got to get out there before its winter and the rivers frozen over."

Chuck did his best to give an excited smile. "Definitely man," Chuck managed to get out. "We'll be out there soon."

"All right bro sounds good." Devon turned to walk down the hallway but stopped suddenly. "Oh yeah almost forgot bro. Me and your sis are hitting up the town after we get off shift. You interested? Its tourist season so there'll be a lot of cuties out in A-bay* tonight."

Chuck gave a halfhearted shrug following him into the living room. "I'll think about it man. Sorry I've just been a little out of it lately."

Devon gave Chuck another once over as if analyzing the younger Bartowski. "No problem man. Either way we're still hitting the beach tomorrow. You still have off right?"

Chuck was about to answer when Ellie walked into the room dressed in her scrubs. "Of course he has it off, and he's coming," she said giving him a look. "Right?" she asked giving him a look.

"Of course," Chuck agreed. It would be good to try and get life normal again. He'd just have to try harder. "You guys have fun at work, saving lives and doing your doctor type stuff, and I'll let you know about tonight."

Both the doctors gave him a look. "You sure your alright little brother?" Ellie asked.

"Yes, yes, go save lives and I'll see you all tonight," Chuck reaffirmed pushing them out the door with a smile.

"Alright see ya later," the two called out as they exited and made their way to the car. As soon as they left, Chuck shut the door his smile leaving his face. "Get it together Chuck," he said to himself as he ran his hands through his hair. "Get it together." He made his way from the door and into the kitchen and poured a glass of water.

He would have to make a bigger effort. Ellie and Awesome were beginning to get suspicious. But it wasn't as if he could just tell them what had happened. Heck, he couldn't even believe what had happened in the cave.

A knock on the door brought him out of his internal tirade. "What did you forget your keys again Ellie?" Chuck laughed as he put a smile on his face and made his way back to the door. He opened it and nearly choked with surprise.

Chuck Bartowski was a pretty observant man. So when he opened the door he was able to use his skills of observation and deduction to realize that it was most certainly not Ellie standing at the door. For starters Ellie was not quite that tall, not that Ellie was short but the figure at the door stood close to six foot.

Second, Ellie didn't have blond hair. And third, and most startling, Ellie didn't have electric blue eyes that reminded him so much of…

"ZOMBIE GIRL," Chuck cried out slamming the door in the girls face. Chuck realized in retrospect that he probably shouldn't have slammed the door in a beautiful girls face but it was almost an automated response. He started to breathe hard.

A slightly more insistent knock at the door called his attention back. "No one's here," Chuck began chanting to himself, before realizing that he had already opened the door and the woman on the other side most obviously knew someone was in the house. "Maybe I'm hallucinating again," Chuck concluded as he moved to open the door a crack and peer outside.

Nope. Still a blond at his door. Her eyes were even as electric as before… and she was starting to scowl.

He shut the door again.

A hard knock at the door, let him know that he was not only incorrect in his theory of hallucination, but he had proceeded to further anger the not so zombie-looking girl. In fact on further analysis, the girl had looked anything but. She was youthful, vibrant, gorgeous, but still those eyes… he wouldn't forget those eyes.

He slowly opened the door for the third time. The blond who had wore a smile on the first opening of the door now had a scowl on her face and was brooding silently.

"H-h-h-hello?" Chuck managed to stammer.

"DID YOU REALLY CALL ME ZOMBIE GIRL TWICE NOW?" was the retort from the blond in front of him.

"Um yes," he managed to mumble, his mind trying to swallow the entire situation he was currently in.

"I can understand before, because honestly, yeah I get it, two hundred years in a state of suspended animation, and the body starts to deteriorate, and I know I'm not as young as I used to be…" The blond continued ranting not really looking at him or anywhere in general.

"Sorry," Chuck managed meekly.

"But NOW, I've fully recovered and am back to peak form and I get Zombie Girl again? That pisses me off. I've looked in a mirror and I happen to think I look pretty good right now." The blond in front of him continued her arms gesturing wildly in expression.

"I think you look very good," Chuck managed to mumble out.

Finally her eyes came back up to his and glared daggers. "Well then why did you call me ZOMBIE GIRL?" she said finally addressing him.

"umm… I don't know," Chuck offered. "Knee-jerk reaction?"

She merely exhaled in a huff crossing her arms and retreating into her thoughts. An awkward silence passed between the two. As the moment lingered Chuck took it as a sign that she was not going to continue. "Um… I'm Chuck Bartowski. Hi…. Umm… If you don't mind, can I ask who you are?"

His voice brought her back to the conversation at hand. Chuck gulped loudly as she looked back up to him with an intense gaze and said the words that would change his life forever. "My name is Sarah Walker, and I'm here to protect you Chuck."

_A/N: And enter the cliffhanger ending. I never realized how daunting it was to do an AU. So much exposition but now Sarah is introduced and the story will pick up. Hopefully everyone is enjoying this fresh take on the Chuck universe. _

_I had a couple people that seem interested in Betaing. Send me your email in the message section and I'll fire you off the next chapter when I finish it. _

_Hopefully I've peaked peoples interest enough to give me a review and feedback on what you like and what you don't like. Feedback helps me make the story better. If not, keep giving it a chance because I have a lot in store and it should be one heck of a ride. _

_Keep Coming Back,_

_-Plothole_


	3. A Minor Problem and a Major Pain

_Chapter 2 – A Minor Problem and a Major Pain_

Major Johnathan Reginald Casey, formerly of the 123rd Advanced Tactical Operations Agency of the Universal Union, and more currently a Major in the 12th Division of the Armed Forces Division of the United Peoples Resistance (or more commonly referred to as the UPR), was a solitary man. He had his quirks like any other person.

Some people got up in the morning and turned on the television. John Casey went for a ten mile run holding 200 lb weights over his head. Some people would sit down to a big breakfast and enjoy family time. John sucked down a cocktail of raw eggs and pepper sauce and read mission reports. Some people would chat with their families or check their email before heading off to their happy little job, in their happy little life.

John Casey cleaned his guns, and fought to obtain the freedom that was being taken away from everyone in the universe.

It hadn't always been that way. He had once been a happy younger man with a fiancé and a promising career in the Universal Union's elite army. But then there had been a civil war of unheard proportions as an unknown enemy split from their ranks equipped with unbelievable technology and power.

The short of the story was that the love his life, Ilsa, had been tragically killed in the final battle of the war, and even more importantly…

They had lost.

The Universal Union which had enjoyed unbridled peace was dissolved. In its wake stood a ruthless empire that ruled through oppression, and took advantage of every planet in its wake;

The Fulcrum Empire.

After the shame of surviving the war, John Casey had stolen the enemy fleet's fastest ship, and all the supplies that he could and had waged a one man war. Sure he had not been able to do much to damage the rapidly growing Empire, but interrupting supply chains and sabotaging installations were all feasible one man operations. For him the war would not be over until he was dead, or Fulcrum had been overthrown. Word of the Lone Wolf of Jaynestown, (Casey's home planet) spread throughout ports and space stations.

A year later, Casey had been contacted by the shattered shell that remained of the former Universal Union, the UPR, and took up arms with his fellow brothers and sisters. They were a small operation but they worked to expand their force while fighting back to overthrow the tyrannical empire. He had been with the movement ever since then.

It was actually because of the UPR that he found himself in the most backwater section of space he had ever been in. It was also because of his current assignment that he was cursing whatever gods existed, as he scrolled through holographic maps trying to find where in the universe he was. Always a stubborn man, it was hard for him to admit that he was currently drifting alone in space in his spaceship who he affectionately called Vic (after and old army friend who had died in the war), totally and completely lost.

A blinking light on the console in front of him barely gave him any notice before a red haired woman popped up on his holographic monitor. He immediately snapped to attention. "Major were you planning on making the rendezvous?" came the stern voice of UPR General Beckman.

"Sorry ma'am," was Casey's immediate response. "My navigation systems went down. I have successfully rebooted but I have not been able to determine my exact location as of yet," Casey explained to the General

"Never mind that Major," Beckman interrupted. "Your misfortune might have been the best news we have had since before the war." Beckman actually smiled as she relayed the information.

"I'm sorry ma'am, I'm not following," the major responded.

"Major, our long range scanners detected an energy signature when we were trying to locate your whereabouts. It matched the exact frequency that is thought to be attributed to the relic. This type of signature hasn't been detected in hundreds of years, and never with such intensity. We think it might have been activated," the general relayed.

Were Casey not a more seasoned veteran, his disbelief would have shown more on his face. "General I thought that the relic was just a fairy tale," Casey questioned.

"I assure you that I am having just as hard of a time believing in it as you are but Major, the reality is that I have a team of scientists telling me that this is the only explanation they can think of. Even more than that, there was still an unidentified surge from an unknown energy source a while ago that needs to be investigated, and it turns out your right in the area." Beckman's light demeanor became stern as her face turned into a scowl.

"I'm sure that I don't have to impress on you just how important this mission will be. Do I Major?"

"No ma'am," Casey replied enthusiastically. The General meant business and as a good soldier, he never disrespected orders.

"Good. Our people are uploading all our data on the energy source to your computer and an updated nav file. You should be all set." Casey felt relief at the knowledge that he would no longer be lost, but that soon gave way to focus as he started to mentally prepare for his assignment.

"Thank you ma'am." Casey gave the general a nod and flawless salute.

"I expect to hear an update from you soon. And Major, good hunting." Beckman's holographic screen disappeared leaving Casey standing at attention facing the wall. He immediately moved to the control console and accessed the location of the energy spike. It seemed that life would be getting a little more interesting.

Taking control of the ship, Casey throttle up the engine and set a course for his next assignment: A medium sized planet called Earth.

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Chuck said with disbelief. "This is probably the most important piece of technology in the universe." Chuck lifted up the cube that hung from his neck to emphasize his point. Sarah merely nodded in agreement. "And you are an alien from a distant planet that is supposed to protect whoever activated the cube?"

"Not just anyone Chuck," Sarah corrected. "The cube has existed for as long as anyone can remember. Countless people have been in contact with it throughout history, but no ones ever been able to activate it." A smile traced its way onto her face. "Well at least until you."

"Of course…" Chuck nodded unconvincingly. "That definitely makes sense."

"You don't believe me," Sarah stated, a hint of frustration seeping into her voice. They had moved inside to the couch after the initial confrontation while Sarah had relayed to Chuck his situation and her reason for being at his doorstep.

"Forgive me if I am having a hard time swallowing this whole thing," Chuck said putting his hands up in the air. "I mean, I guess I always believed that the universe was too big not to have any intelligent life out there, but I mean… I never thought that I would have an alien knocking on my front door."

Sarah furrowed her eyebrows in frustration. She had already spent hours explaining the situation to the man. She got that it was hard to understand, but really. He had been in the cave. He had seen what happened. Was it really that hard to accept?

"Not to mention, you don't have any tentacles or horns, and you don't need a spacesuit to survive in our atmosphere, or have gills. I mean, you look just like any other girl," Chuck babbled trying to fill the silence. Something clicked in his head as an idea played onto his face. "You don't have gills right?"

A glare in his direction silenced that thought process. "Alright, I'll take it as a no on the whole gill situation. I mean you were underwater in that stasis pool and obviously didn't have an air pack to swim out of the cave with. Not to mention if you were supposed to be protecting me where have you been the past month?"

"Chuck just because you haven't seen me up until this point doesn't mean I haven't been protecting you. After what happened the first time we met, I figured I'd wait for my body to regenerate before I came to you in the open. I figured you'd take it a lot better if ZOMBIE GIRL didn't come to greet you," Sarah explained. "Obviously I thought wrong."

Chuck flushed with embarrassment. She obviously had not let the whole "zombie girl" thing go yet. "Yeah I'm really sorry about that by the way. It was just a bit much you know," he apologized. His eyes lowered to the floor. "This whole thing is way too much," he said with a sigh.

Sarah looked at him sympathetically and put her hand on his. "Look Chuck I can understand where you're coming from. Really I can. I get how hard it is for you to accept all this but I really need you to. The fact of the matter is I have to protect you and am going to, and it'll be a lot easier if you're on board."

Chuck stared at the skin on skin contact, his flush gaining in intensity. Even despite the circumstances, it was not lost on him that a beautiful girl currently had her hand on his. He looked back up to her. "Sarah, I don't get why are you protecting me though. It's not as if I'm living a dangerous… " The creaking of the front door interrupted him.

"Oh shit, what time it is?" he blurted frantically. Chuck looked up to see the door start to open. He had lost track of time and now Ellie and Devin were back from their shift. They had only had to pull half duty that day as they had plans for that night. A panicked expression plastered its way on to Chuck's face as he looked around the room trying to find some excuse for Sarah's presence in the home.

And then his panic was gone.

Surprise was his initial reaction as he felt the soft contact on his lips. His eyes were wide with a million questions as the beautiful blond sitting next to him kissed him. When she opened her mouth and her tongue forced his mouth to part and let her in, he lost all semblance of thought and closed his eyes enjoying the moment.

Time stood still, the moment stretching out until it was the only thing that existed as the two kissed, her body coming on top of his. A high pitched squeal brought him back to reality and he let out a small grunt of disappointment as he and Sarah separated.

"Chuck, oh my god, oh my god," Ellie squeaked excitedly. Sarah gave him a bashful smile as they linked eyes sharing a look before turning to the newcomers. "Why didn't you tell me you were having someone over?" Ellie happily babbled as she ran into the room.

"Awesome bro," came Devon's approval as he followed at a much more managed pace behind his girlfriend.

"Uh.. yeah.. umm…." Chuck replied flustered by the entire situation. His mind was having a hard time functioning after the kiss the two had just shared.

Sarah stood up dragging a dumbfounded Chuck up off the couch with her. She turned to Ellie and flashed a million dollar smile. "Hi I'm Chuck's girlfriend Sarah," she said extending a hand out for a handshake. "You must be Ellie. Chuck's told me so much about you."

Ellie's eyes lit up even further than before at the news, her smile threatening to burst as she pushed Sarah's hand out of the way and hugged the girl. "It's so nice to meet you Sarah," Ellie said excitedly, as she continued to nearly strangle the blond enthusiastically.

Chuck brain finally caught up to the situation. 'Girlfriend?' the thought popped into his head as he made tried to make sense of what had just happened.

"Chuck," Ellie said menacingly as she separated from the girl, allowing oxygen to reenter Sarah's lungs. She turned her attention to her blindsided brother. "Why didn't you tell me that you had a girlfriend?" A hurt look started to form on her face. "I thought we told each other everything."

"I'm really sorry Ellie. It's actually my fault," Sarah interrupted saving Chuck. "I'm not that good with relationships and wanted to take things slow. I asked Chuck to keep things real low key to start off. I have a hard time putting myself out there, but this man is just too good not to make the effort," Sarah said, turning to Chuck to give him a smile.

"Oh that's alright," Ellie quickly reassured. "No worries at all. "

"Yeah sorry about that Ell," Chuck admitted awkwardly, his mind finally reaching at least walking speed.

"No problem little brother," Ellie said making her way over to him giving him a hug of his own. "All that matters now is that we got to meet her. And Sarah's right, you're a great guy Chuck."

"I agree with that," Devon voiced making his way into the conversation as he approached Sarah. He shook her hand with a smile. "Hi I'm Ellie's boyfriend Devon. It's awesome to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too," Sarah replied giving the surgeon a firm handshake and smile.

"So you have to tell us all about you," Ellie said turning back to the couple with a happy smile on her face. "It's been years since Chuck's brought a girl home. How did you two meet?"

Chuck could feel another blush creep up his neck as he let loose a nervous cough at the embarrassing fact was relayed by his sister. So what if it had been a little while since he had had a girlfriend? And maybe he was a little embarrassed about the fact... The thought of whether the stasis pool could work for him crossed his mind. It seemed a better alternative at the moment to the current conversation. Not only did he have a beautiful alien protector that had just been spontaneously locking lips with him only moments before, but now apparently she was his girlfriend and his sister was in full on Ellie-joy mode.

Sarah and Chuck shared an awkward look not completely sure how to answer the question. "Well it was definitely an interesting meeting," Sarah started hesitantly.

"We were actually both scuba diving underwater… at a really cool ship wreck." Chuck hesitantly continued. He realized he sounded about as convincing as a Jeff talking about sobriety but he hoped he had sold it.

"I was there by myself and all of a sudden I saw another diver there," Sarah offered saving Chuck from further stumbling over his words. "It turned out to be Chuck. We kind of exchanged looks underwater and decided to explore together, and when we surfaced and actually talked we hit it off," Sarah offered.

"That's so romantic," Ellie sighed. "So Sarah where are you-"

"Babe, let's give them a little space," Devon intervened picking up on the looks that Chuck and Sarah were sharing. He walked behind Ellie encircling her in his arms. "Besides, you two are going to come out with us tonight right?"

"Umm, I really should probably go," Sarah started trying to come up with an excuse.

"Nonsense," Ellie beamed. "We were just going to drag Chuck off with us anyway so I don't see why we can't have a double date! We want to get to know Chuck's new girlfriend. Just let us get ready and we'll go out to dinner."

"Okay," Sarah agreed as the two doctors turned and made their way down the hall to their room to change. When they had finally left the room she turned to Chuck with an apologetic expression "Sorry about that but it was the first thing I could think of. And I figured the whole girlfriend thing would be a good cover for me protecting you."

Chuck mumbled a dazed, "S'Okay," as they shared a look.

An awkward silence fell in between them until Ellie's voice scolding Devin interrupted them. Sarah snapped back to attention, putting on a serious expression and grabbing Chuck's hand. "C'mon, let's go outside. We have to think up my life's story in about ten minutes."

Chuck just nodded, and allowed himself to be dragged out of the room. The only thought that made its way through the cloud of confusion in his head was the constant of echo of "What in the hell have I got myself into?"

* * *

A thunderous sound echoed throughout the sky as Casey guided his ship through the entry into Earth's atmosphere. Activating the cloaking device, he checked his heading once again. His trajectory pointed him landing very close to the initial location of the detected energy signature.

Casey checked his surroundings as the ground came ever closer. Luckily there was a large mass of water where he could easily stow his ship. The last thing he wanted was some backwater native accidentally running into his cloaked ship. The unwritten rule of all interstellar species with regards to those that had not achieved the ability to break the speed of light was that of strict non-intervention.

The impact with the water was lulled to a mild bump as the ship slowed to a hover and gently descended into the murky depths. "It's go time," Casey murmured to himself as he activated the ships autopilot. He felt the familiar lightheadedness of teleportation as he pressed a series of keys on the holographic control activating the teleportation module.

He surveyed the dark scenery around him as he rematerialized on the shore, scanning for any hostile contacts. He was in the yard of what looked to be a quaint wooden structure. Light poured through a window of the home spilling out into the darkness in front of him. He pulled out a small rectangular portable scanner and activated a search for traces of the energy signature of the relic.

Moving from the lawn to the driveway his eyes set on a vintage automobile with the words Crown Victoria indicating the make of the vehicle. A rare smile graced his face as the sensor locked onto a faint reading a half a click from his position. Accessing the menu of the scanner he pulled up schematics of the vehicle, and how to operate it.

"At least the yokels have a little style," he commented as he opened the unlocked door and entered the car. Following the instructions provided by his portable computer, he hotwired the car another grin forming on his face as the engine roared to life. In a split second, he had backed the car out of the driveway and headed towards the energy signature.

If he had been less focused on getting to the detected signature, he would have noticed a cloaked ship enter the atmosphere behind his, or the appearance of a figure materializing in the shadows.

Zarnow, a gun for hire of the Mercenaries Guild smiled to himself as he watched the car that had held Major Casey disappear down the road. He had little worry as to losing the man as he had locked onto the Major's energy signature. Imagine his luck. He had been escorting a smuggling ship through one of the backwater shipping routes when he had detected the presence of the highest current bounties ship.

"The Fulcrum Empire will pay a hefty reward for John Casey," he laughed to himself as he counted his fortune. Who would dream of running into one of the biggest bounties on an out of the way planet like Earth? He would capture the criminal and his stolen ship but first he would see what had brought the pride of the UPR to a backwater planet like Earth.

* * *

Perhaps the most surprising thing to Chuck was how well the night was actually going. Alexandria Bay (or as it was nicknamed, A-bay) was the commercial hub of the 1000 islands. Built on a giant hill, the town was full of quaint gift shops, restaurants, night clubs, marinas and all the necessary outlets for the thriving center of tourism in the region.

The group had walked through the town, Ellie showing Sarah all her favorite stores (as Sarah had revealed that she had never been to A-bay). Finally settling on a riverfront restaurant, the two couples had sat down to dinner as the sun hung low on the horizon, casting golden rays that reflected off the water. Chuck would have taken time to appreciate the sunset if not for the fact that he was too busy stealing glances at his 'girlfriend.'

Sarah had been much more than expected. He had been sure the outing would be an epic train wreck given the circumstances, but instead it felt surprisingly normal. Chuck barely knew the girl, but the more time they had spent walking the town, the more Chuck felt as if she fit perfectly into their group. She was charming, beautiful, considerate and not afraid to talk and express her opinions. Chuck had honestly never met a girl quite like Sarah Walker. 'Of course how well do I know her,' was the constant thought nagging in his mind.

He was becoming comfortable with the girls presence which was mildly upsetting. He knew that his guard should be up since he knew next to nothing about her, but he was beginning to lose the nervous edge that had been plaguing him since the blond showed up on his doorstep. In fact, he was potentially having a great time.

"So Sarah," Devon said as the waiting staff collected the empty dishes from the meal. "Let's turn this up, personal style."

"Yes I'm so excited to hear about you," Ellie agreed. Sarah stole a shy look at Chuck before looking back at the two.

"Well there's really not that much to tell," she said with a bashful laugh. "I'm originally from DC, and got laid off with the economy tanking so I took my severance package and came to the 1000 islands to find myself." Cool relief eased into Chuck as Sarah without hesitation relayed the cover story they had come up with.

"It's wonderful up here isn't it," Ellie agreed.

"Unbelievably so," Sarah nodded her head. "I'm really glad that everything happened this way actually. I looked at myself in the mirror one day back in DC and I didn't know who I was anymore. So when I lost my job, I figured I would stop pleasing other people and I would do something for me. I broke my contract on my apartment, sold all my things and came up here, and things have been great ever since." She shot Chuck a smile. "Especially after meeting Chuck."

"Awesome," Devon agreed. "That's actually pretty much how we did it too. We had some bad times in LA and…"

Chuck's mood shifted with the reminder of their own departure. He tried not to think about those times anymore. Too many hard memories. His face fell, luckily his sister picked up on it and interrupted her boyfriend.

"But that was a long time ago and we don't really dwell on it anymore," Ellie said, giving Devon a subtle elbow under the table. He gave a surprised grunt catching on to the message.

Chuck looked up to see Sarah giving him a sympathetic and questioning gaze. He shook off his melancholy reminding himself how many years ago that had been. He gave her a smile to ease her mind. "But anyways," Chuck said changing the subject. "I'm glad that we are all here and enjoying a dinner together, with my fantastic sister, her awesome boyfriend, and my wonderful girlfriend." He held out his wine glass in a toast.

"Here, here," came Devon's enthusiastic reply as the group toasted there drinks. "It's great that we got to meet Sarah, and were glad that someone's realized just how awesome our man Chuck here is."

"I'm just lucky to have met him," Sarah happily replied. "I wasn't expecting to meet such an amazing guy. And I have to say, you have all been very welcoming. Thank you all for having me." Her smile lit up the table and made Chuck's insides melt.

'Stop it' Chuck, he reminded himself for what seemed the thousandth time that night. 'It's all a cover,' he reasoned. 'You don't even know this woman.' Yet for some reason, that argument was losing ground.

Chuck took another sip of the last of his wine to quell his internal tirade. As silence broke the table Ellie chose to interrupt with an idea of her own. Chuck sputtered out wine eliciting a giggle from Sarah as Ellie declared: "I have a great idea. Lets go dancing!"

* * *

Casey pulled the Crown Victoria up to the side of the road and double checked the reading on the sensor, surprised to detect the relic in such a public place. He punched up the general on his communicator as the signature started to move on his sensor. As it started to come closer, he saw a group of civilians start to walk out of a restaurant.

Pinpointing the relic's energy signature, Casey found himself staring at a lanky, curly haired man that was currently walking next to a tall blond woman. Another couple who seemed to be with the two walked further ahead. Sizing up the group, Casey was unimpressed by their presence. On first glance they were just a couple of normal couples out enjoying the night air. He double checked the sensor, but sure enough, the energy signature albeit faint was originating from the unassuming young man.

The communicator beeped to life as he heard the General's stern voice. "Beckman secure."

"Casey, secure." He replied as he focused more on the blond. The more he examined her; he could tell that she had tendencies more suited to a trained soldier. She constantly surveyed and scanned her surroundings, but so subtly that he could barely perceive anything was up. She had an awareness that only seasoned and top caliber soldiers had.

"General I have located the energy signature. It appears to originating from a local, but I believe I might have detected a hostile with him," Casey reported as the group walked past his parked car and down the street.

"Major, I cannot stress to you how important this is. I want you to take in the man alive for questioning, and see if you can locate the relic on him. Take out the agent with him. If fulcrum is already here, it could spell disaster for the entire UPR." Casey grimaced in acknowledgment. If the empire had gained such a asset, they would be even more invincible.

"As always try and limit exposure to terrestrials, but you have full clearance to abandon discretion if the situation is deemed necessary. You cannot afford to fail Major. The stakes have become much too high," Beckman relayed.

Casey smirked at the news. "Understood ma'am. I won't fail you. Casey out." It looked like this boring mission would end in some gunplay after all. Hell he might even get to kill someone. Things were beginning to look up.

* * *

The night air was a pleasant as a soft breeze swept up and played with Sarahs long golden tresses. Awesome had dragged Ellie ahead to the club under the pretense of letting Chuck show Sarah a little more of the town while they went ahead to find a table. Of course, Chuck couldn't help but want to crawl under a rock as the pair walked away Devon not so quietly whispering something about "not cock blocking bro's" resulting in a playful slap from Ellie. Of course Chuck's inability to come up with any conversation wasn't helping him at all either.

"You nervous Chuck?" Sarah teased breaking the awkward silence as they leisurely started towards the nightclub. The thumping of music could be heard in the distance. Chuck looked over to see her giving him a playful smile.

"I think that I should probably warn you. It might be a big surprise but I'm not much of a dancer." He said, finally reacquainting his brain with the ability to string words together.

"I'm sure your not that bad," Sarah reaffirmed grasping his hand. A slight blush started to burn on Chuck's face at the surprising contact.

"Trust me when I say that two left feet is an understatement," he answered with a grin. "You might be here to protect me, but I'm pretty sure we'll need an army or at least your own personal strike team to protect you from my patented Bartowski shuffle."

She let loose a melodious laugh that made Chuck's insides warm and formed a wide smile on his face. "By the way, thank you for being so good with Ellie and Awesome. I can tell that they both really like you."

"It's not a problem Chuck," Sarah said without hesitation. "They're really very nice people." A tinge of sadness entered her voice as she continued, "You're very lucky."

"Ellie's the best sister a guy could ask for, and the Captain is… well Awesome. They've helped me through a lot." Chuck shook his head inquisitively looking at Sarah. "But what about you, I'm sure you have some great people back where you're from, which I might add I have absolutely no idea." An uncomfortable frown appeared on Sarah's face.

"I mean I'm not trying to pry but I'm pretty sure that you weren't conceived in a cave, though it would be a pretty interesting story if you had stalactites for parents, or maybe it would be stalagmites, I hear they're freakier."

Sarah's frown melted as the corners of her mouth turned upwards. "It's complicated…" Sarah started, as an odd smell entered her highly sensitive nose. A scent that was foreign to Earth… the unmistakable odor of a pulse rifle.

"What's wrong?" Chuck questioned as he felt her hand squeeze his tightly. He turned to her as they stopped walking. Sarah's eyes darted around the landscape, and the crowds of people walking through the warm night finally settling on a man in a black trench coat exiting a black Crown Victoria.

She leaned into him, her lips coming up to his ear. "Chuck," she said in a tone that spoke all business. "Don't freak out but the man behind you isn't from around here."

Chuck gulped audily. "Like not from A-Bay?" he asked, a hopeful plea in his voice.

"Like not from this planet." Sarah answered continuing to scan the area as she formulated a plan. She grabbed his hand and began to casually lead him away from the nightclub they had been approaching.

"I was afraid you were going to say that," Chuck replied fear creeping into his voice as his inside froze to ice.

A/N: So it's been almost a year… Life is pretty crazy for me between my attempt at getting into grad school, taking prerequisite courses, working full time, and juggling being in a band that plays out most weekends. It's fun and pays well, but unfortunately does not leave much free time for writing. That being said I hope to have Chapter 3 out by august… so Review and let me know what you think!

-Plothole


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